Global oil output could peak by 2020 - much earlier than expected - amid a collapse in investment due to the financial crisis, the International Energy Agency's (IEA) chief economist Fatih Birol claimed.

In an interview published today Birol told London-based newspaper the Guardian that conventional crude output could plateau in 2020, a development that was "not good news" for a world still heavily dependent on petroleum.

The IEA has never before been specific about the point at which conventional oil would peak, although last month it said total crude output could peak in 2030.
Terror Cell: IEA sees peak oil in 2020 (http://terrorcell.blogspot.com/2008/12/iea-sees-peak-oil-in-2020.html)